The Zen of Bass

DNA and Your Personal Health -- Is Too Much Knowledge Good?

In the coming era of consumer genetics, your DNA will have much to tell you about the biological bases of your health, your physique and even your personality. But will this knowledge really amount to self-knowledge? asks Steven Pinker in his article My Genome, My Self, which appeared in the January 11, 2009 issue of the Sunday New York Times.

We've entered the age of personal genomics -- where Pinker says "the plunging cost of genome sequencing — will soon give people an unprecedented opportunity to contemplate their own biological and even psychological makeups".  For example, 23andMe provides a genetic report card and directs customers to a web page which displays risk factors for 14 diseases and 10 traits. This page also provides links additional diseases and traits which according to Pinker, have iffier scientific substantiation.

This latest "do it yourself genomics" trend coincides with the new promise of personalized medicine - where drugs are being tailored to an individual's genetic makeup.  The downside to this trend ranges from dubious companies which prey on hypochondriacs, to insurance and ethical isues.

For now, the jury is out on the benefits of personal genomics. I like Pinker's concluding thoughts:

So if you are bitten by scientific or personal curiosity and can think in probabilities, by all means enjoy the fruits of personal genomics. But if you want to know whether you are at risk for high cholesterol, have your cholesterol measured; if you want to know whether you are good at math, take a math test.

The Internet is accelerating biomedical progress in understanding and treating disease. Personally, I believe in the potential of services like 23andme -- it empowers individuals to take control of their medical destinies and enables them to create virtual cohorts for clinical research and trials.  With tools like these, personalized medicine will evolve even faster.

Mindfulness Can Make You Healthier and Live Longer

Happy New Year -- is it resolution time for you? Alex Williams asked the question in today's New York Times. Research shows that many people who try to make major lifestyle changes, like losing weight, don't succeed. Why? They are "hard-wired not to change quickly," said Dr. Marion Kramer Jacobs. On the other hand, Alan Deutschman, the author of "Change or Die," says some strategies are more likely than others to bring positive results. Here are Deutschman's four steps to success:

1. Start with big changes, not small ones.
2. Act like the person you are trying to become.
3. "Reframe" the situation.
4. Don't do it alone.

  
Dr. Dean Ornish of UCSF  is more optimistic. He believes that by changing your lifestyle you can change your gene expression. In fact, his studies have shown that people who are motivated to make and maintain bigger, healthier changes in lifestyle also achieve better clinical outcomes and even larger cost savings for the healthcare system.

In his recent interview with Edge-The Third Culture, Ornish says  that if stress reduces telomerase (an enzyme that repairs and lengthens damaged telomeres, which are the ends of our chromosomes that control how long we live) and makes telomeres shorter, then stress management techniques, exercise and good nutrition should be able to increase these. 

Ornish later says that "the more inwardly-defined you are, the more you can quiet down your mind and body and experience more of an inner sense of peace and well being, the more empowered you are... people only have power over you if they have something that you think you need. The more inwardly-defined you are, the less you need, so the more powerful you become". And healthier too!

For more, check out this video from last year's TED Conference: